One of my favourite roses is Rosa Mundi, Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’, a delightful old shrub rose with striped pink flowers.

Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’, in the gardens at Het Loo in The Netherlands.

I first grew it in my childhood garden in Scotland and we planted a specimen in Grapes Hill Community Garden in Norwich, just by the gate.

Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’ dates back to long before 1600 and it is a striped sport of an earlier rose, Rosa gallica ‘Officinalis’, which has uniform deep pinkish-red flowers.

Rosa gallica ‘Officinalis’ is often referred to as “The Provins Rose” (after the French town) or simply as “The Red Rose”. It may even be the original symbol of the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses. Tradition has it that Rosa gallica ‘Officinalis’ was brought back from the Barons Crusade of 1239-1241 by King Theobald I of Navarre to his castle at Provins near Paris in 1240.

Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’ is quite easy to grow and forms a compact bush. Several bushes can be grown together as an informal hedge, or a single plant can be used as a specimen. The flowers are scented and can be cut for a vase. Like all roses, the petals are edible. The rose should be pruned after flowering in late summer, with any long shoots cut by a third and sideshoots by two-thirds.